Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/296

HOLYWELL. 288 HOME. but, from its position in the centre of an immensely valuable mineral district, and from the manufactures carried on in the neighbourhood, it has become one of the most important and flourishing towns in North "Wales. It is a straggling, though rather well-built place, containing numerous establishments for smelting lead and copper, desilverising lead, making shot, &c. The first copper-mill was started by a company from Warrington in 17C6, soon after which the Holywell Level mining concern was commenced, and speedily produced large quantities of lead and silver ore. In the vicinity are extensive collieries and lead mines, large quarries of Aberdaw limestone, also calamine arid black- jack, and a Roman cement manufactory. Under the Reform Act it is a parliamentary borough, being con- tributory to Flint in returning one member to parlia- ment. Its population in 1851 was 11,302, which had declined in 1861 to 10,301. Its trade is still very active, though not equal to what it was some few years since. It is lighted with gas and paved, and has a copious water supply from St. Wenefrede's spring, which dis- charges at the rate of 21 tons a minute, and rushes down in an impetuous torrent to the river, turning in its course of 1J mile, copper, cotton, corn, and paper mills. The waters of this spring have been long famed for their healing qualities, having been visited by William the Conqueror, Henry VI., Edward I., James II., and in recent times by the King of the Belgians. Its pecu- liarities are that it never freezes, although intensely cold, and scarcely ever varies in the supply of water, the only difference after wet weather being' a con- siderable discoloration. The sweet-scented moss, or Jungermannia asplcnioides, still nourishes on the banks, but the minute plant called by Linnaras Syssits iolit/ius, which used in ancient times to grow upon the stones, giving them a red tint, attributed by the supersti- tious to the blood of St. Winifred, which gave to the well several miraculous properties, is no longer found, the constant bathing having disturbed the natural character of the basin. The chapel over the well is of the later perpendicular style of architecture, and was erected by Margaret, Countess of Richmond, and mother of Henry VII. The building contains two baths, which are for public use at certain times and under certain regu- lations. In the groin work of the roof are suspended numerous sticks, crutches, and handbarrows, as the votive offerings of those who "have been cured. The chapel above is now used as a Sunday-school, for divine service on Wednesday evenings, and for occasional meetings. A tram rail runs into the mines under the hill on which the town stands. Holy- well is the head of a Poor-law Union comprising 14 parishes, and of superintendent registry and County Court districts. The living is a vie.* in the dioe. of St. Aeaph, val. 250, in the patron, of Jesus College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Wenefrede, is an ancient structure, with a tower rising directly above the chapel of the well, and is situated below the rest of the town. It was partly rebuilt in 1769, and contains a headless effigy of a priest in his sacerdotal robes, with a chalice in his hand. Besides the parish church there are two district churches, one at Bagillt, consecrated in 1839, the other at Brynford, consecrated in 1853, and a room licensed for Divine service at Green- field. There are places of worship belonging to the Independents, Baptists, Wesleyans, Wesleyan He- formers, Welsh Methodists, and .Roman Catholics, be- sides Dissenting places of worship at Greenfield, Bagillt, and other places within the parish. There are three National schools, also British and Roman Catholic schools. In the vicinity of the town are the ruins of Basingwerk Abbey, contrasting strangely with the modern factories, tram roads, and chimneys by which they are surrounded; also traces of the old British fortification of Dinas Jlrisiiiff, or " fort in the bottom," and of Wat's Dyke, which had its northern termination at the seacoast in this neighbourhood. Market day is on Friday. Fairs, or wakes, are held on the 22nd June and 3rd November. HOLYWELL, or HALLIWELL, a tnshp. in par. of Earsdon, E. div. of Castle ward, co. Northu berland, 4 miles S. of Blyth, and 5 N.W. of No: Shields. It is a station on the Blyth and Tyne rails The village is situated on the Shields turnpike n There are several collieries, and a medicinal spr called St. Mary's Well. The Duke of Northumberl is lord of the manor and chief landowner. HOLYWELL, a district in the par. of St. Shoreditch, London, so named from a well in Holy street, near the Benedictine nunnery of St. John Ba HOLYWELL. See ST. CROSS, co. Oxford. HOLYWELL-CUM-AUNBY, a chplry. in the of Castle Bytham, wap. of Beltisloe, parts of Keste co. Lincoln, G miles S.W. of Bourne, and 7 N.W. Stamford, its post town, and is situated near the river Glen. The living is a cur. annexed to the rect.* o| Careby, in the dice, of Lincoln. The chapel-of-ease is an ancient structure dedicated to St. Wilfred. HOLYWELL-CTJM-NEEDINGWORTH, a par. in the hund. of Hurstingtone, co. Huntingdon, 1 ~ mile E. of St. Ives, its post town. The village, which is small, is situated on the river Ouse. Fragments of Roman potteiy have been discovered here. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Ely, val. 528. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient structure with a square tower. The churchyard commands an extensive view of the river Ouse. Near the church is a holy well, from which the village derived its name. There am places of worship for the Wesleyans and Baptists. HOLYWELL-GREEN, a vil. in the tnshp. of Si land, and par. of Halifax, West Riding co. York, 3 mil S. of Halifax. It is a large manufacturing village, the inhabitants being chiefly engaged in the cotton and woollen mills. HOLYWELL HAUGH, a place in the co. Berwick, near the ford of the Tweed to Norham Castle, where a conference was held in 1291 between Edward II. and the Scots relative to the Scottish succession. HOLYWELL LAKE, a limit, in the par. of Wel- lington, co. Somerset, 2 miles from Wellington. HOLYWELL-ROW, a hmlt. in the par. of Milden- hall, hund. of Lackford, co. Suffolk, 2 miles N.W. of Mildenhall. It is situated on the road to Lakcnheath, near the Fens. HOLYWOOD, a par. and post-office vil. in the dis- trict of Nithsdale, co. Dumfries, Scotland, 2 miles N.W. of Dumfries. It is a station on the Glasgow and South- western railway. Its boundaries are formed by the co. Kirkcudbright and the pars, of Dunscore, Kirkimihoe, and Dumfries. It is 10 miles long by 1 j mile broad. The surface is flat, and the soil good. The interior is traversed by the rivers Nith and Cluden, with their several tributary burns. The Glasgow and Diunfrii-s road passes through the parish, and upon it stands i village. This par. is in the presb. and synod of D fries. The minister has a stipend of 235. The church was built in 1779. Here are three parochial schools ai a subscription library. The chief residences are, Newtor aii-ds, Gribton House, Broomrig House, Cowhill Iloi and Portract House. Remains of Holywood Abbey existed as late as 1779, but they were subsequently used to furnish building material for the present church, was a cruciform structure, supposed to have been founded in the 12th century by one of the Maxwell family, was restored, and had a hospital added in 137! Archibald Douglas, Lord Galloway. Its site was that of the present burial-ground. The old bells now hi in the parish church. Here are remains of a Druidical oak grove and circle. The rivers abound in salmon an trout. Dr. Irvine, who invented the apparatus f' rendering salt water fresh, was born here. Dr. Bryce Johnston was minister for many years. HOLYWOOD, a small watering-place in the co. : Antrim, Ireland, forming a marine suburb of Belfast,: with which town it is connected by a short line ( railway. HOME, a hmlt. in the par. of Ystradyfodwg, hand. of Miskin, co. Glamorgan, 6 miles S. of Merthyr-Tydm.